Local authorities are to share £1m to help then identify private high-rise buildings that may be clad in unsafe building materials.

The funding will help councils to identify buildings over 18m with potentially unsafe Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding.

In a letter to the Local Government Association, Tamara Finkelstein director general for the Building Safety Programme, said the government would create a ‘fair distribution of payments’.

The letter also said: ‘We are also taking steps to support local authorities in taking further action where cladding constitutes a hazard. We are progressing work on issuing a statutory direction as to local authorities’ reviews of housing conditions in their area, in respect of cladding-related issues.

‘We are also working to publish additional statutory operating guidance to support local authorities in conducting hazard inspections and issuing enforcement notices.’